ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE—CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. (Hansard, 4 April 1849)

§ LORD J. RUSSELL
moved that the House at its rising should adjourn to Monday, the 16th of April.

§ MR. HUME
, before the House adjourned, thought that it should consider the state of the colonial governments at the present period. There was a sort of con- 289 tention going on in the colonies, which could only lead to the most lamentable results. Assemblies were set against Governors, and Governors against Councils; and the consequence was a course of contradictory proceedings quite disgraceful to the country. The dissatisfaction of the colonies must be owing to misgovernment at home. For his part, he could not understand why the Government here persisted that the colonies should not effect such reductions in their civil expenditure as they thought fit. That a colony should be beneficial to the mother country it was absolutely necessary that the colonists should be contented—that they should be convinced they derived a benefit from their connexion with England. The benefit was mutual. But so far were our colonists from being contented, that he should ask people to read the accounts of what was going on in Jamaica—a colony that used to be a model of content and prosperity. In Jamaica the Council, a body that stood like the House of Peers, rejected what the Assembly and the whole of the inhabitants of the colony demanded, namely, a reduction in their civil expenditure. He said that a Government which permitted such proceedings ought not to be allowed to continue in office. What would be the consequence of them? What was to be expected but additional outlay for the maintenance of troops, and for the support of men who were acting against the wishes of the colonists? What was to be done with Demerara or Trinidad? The Government had sent out Mr. Barkly, as Governor, to Demerara, to settle the differences that had arisen; and what were those differences about? Why, the colonists were unanimous in demanding a reduction of the salaries of all the high officers; and the Council, who were all officials, would not permit it. Instead of having such a body as the Council, it would have been much better to give the Governor five votes at once. Every unofficial man in the colony had given his opinion in favour of the reduction; yet from the 30th of December, 1847, to the present period of 1849, there had been a constant contention kept up between the popular body there, and Earl Grey here. Only a few day ago, he (Mr. Hume) presented a petition signed by 2,500 proprietors of the colony, praying for the interference of the House. The fact was that dissatisfaction at present prevailed in every one of our colonies, except Canada, which was going on most satisfactorily. 290 They had been told by some of the journals of this country that Canada was in a state of great uneasiness and discontent, because a certain sum of money was to be voted to compensate parties for losses they had incurred during the late rebellion. But in answer to that allegation, he (Mr. Hume) had to state that on the division which had taken place upon that subject on the 27th of February, the proposal which had been so much censured by a portion of the public press in this country, had been affirmed by a majority of 67 to 5—that was to say, that there were only five dissentients to a Motion which it had been said had caused the greatest dissatisfaction in the colony. He considered that the adoption of a system of responsible government in Canada, had been perfectly successful. He found that at various meetings throughout the colony, votes of thanks had been passed to the Earl of Elgin, the Governor General of Canada; and he (Mr. Hume) confessed that he had the greatest confidence in the ability and the good intentions of that noble Lord. He hoped that we might, next year, be able to withdraw the whole of the 10,000 troops we had there, and that Canada would, afterwards, continue more firmly united than ever to this country. He believed that the state of Canada was now one of growing prosperity, on account of the wise and liberal policy that had been adopted there; and he wished a similar policy was followed in our other colonies. He thought that before the House adjourned for the holidays it ought to receive some explanation from Her Majesty's Ministers of their views on the subject of colonial policy, and how they proposed to deal with the disaffection which at present prevailed in so many of our colonies. He should object to so long an adjournment as was proposed, unless he should hear from Her Majesty's Government that any steps had been taken for the purpose of introducing responsible government in Demerara and Jamaica.

§ LORD J. RUSSELL
Does the hon. Member move any Amendment?

§ MR. HUME
No, I have no Amendment to propose.

§ LORD J. RUSSELL
The hon. Gentleman has certainly taken a new occasion of giving us his opinion on the subject of the colonies; but the theme on which he has expatiated is an old one, and the language which he has employed is that which he has usually adopted. I must beg the House to bear in mind that we have forty- 291 three colonies connected with the British Crown; and therefore it is not wonderful that, almost at any time when the hon. Gentleman addresses the House, there should be some two or three colonies in which dissatisfaction and discontent may exist. The hon. Gentleman, therefore, in the observations which he has thought proper to make, has only availed himself of a very bold figure—that of taking part for the whole—when he said that all our colonies were discontented. I do not remember, indeed, any year for the last ten years in which the hon. Gentleman has not made this assertion. [Mr. HUME: Quite the contrary.] Well, then, I must proceed to cite particular instances. The hon. Gentleman many years ago used language with regard to Canada which tended, I think, not to reconcile that province to the Government of this country, but which rather tended to promote an unlawful resistance in Canada to the due authority of the Crown. For my part, I always said it was necessary to put down resistance to legal authority, and to assert the supremacy of the Crown; but at the same time it was my opinion that the wishes of a great colony like Canada should be respected, and that they ought to have an influential voice in the regulation of their own internal affairs. Well, the insurrection which had been excited was successful in some degree, but our troops were more successful; and in spite of the various prognostications which were hazarded—in spite of the denunciations which warned me that I was about to follow the example of Lord North, and that Canada would imitate the conduct of the united States, and separate herself from this country—I say, in spite of this, the measure which I proposed, for the union of the two provinces, was successful, and produced great content. And now we find the hon. Gentleman—all his prophecies being falsified, and everything which he said being proved to be groundless—admitting that the province is supporting the Government of the colony on the behalf of the British Crown. The House will recollect also that though the hon. Gentleman has made many attacks upon Earl Grey—attacks which have been severe and frequently repeated—the Earl of Elgin was recommended by Earl Grey for the government of Canada, and that the Earl of Elgin, by the admission of the hon. Gentleman himself, and of all reasonable people, has carried into effect the theory of responsible government with 292 so much moderation and good sense as to reconcile in the happiest manner the interests of the colony and the mother country. Therefore, with regard to that colony at least, there must be a little exception to the statement of the hon. Gentleman, that the whole of our colonies are discontented. After all we have heard of the great discontent excited in Canada by the Bill introduced for the compensation of losses incurred during the rebellion, we find that there is a majority of sixty-seven in its favour, and only five votes against it. With regard to representative government, what does the hon. Gentleman want more? [Mr. HUME: Nothing.] I am very glad to hear the hon. Gentleman make that admission, because it shows that, with regard to one great colony at least, the hon. Gentleman is satisfied. With respect to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, I do not know that there is anything of consequence which can be said with regard to discontent in those colonies. With regard to the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, of which we heard a good deal last year, Earl Grey recommended to the Crown Sir Harry Smith as the Governor of that colony—a man not only of great ability in war, but thoroughly acquainted with the colony itself; and his administration of affairs has been attended with the happiest results, there being no war now going on, and no discontent in that colony. I agree, however, with the hon. Gentleman, that, wherever it is practicable, our colonies ought to have representative government; and I believe that there is now a plan under the consideration of Sir Harry Smith by which a greater control on the behalf of the people will be introduced into the institutions of that colony. New Zealand is another colony in which there was, a few years ago, a very great degree of discontent, which found a very warm expression in this House. I think that the late Government, and particularly Lord Stanley, deserve very great credit for appointing a man like Captain Grey to the government of that colony. I had the honour of giving him his first appointment, being very much struck with his ability; and I am very glad to find him placed over the administration of affairs in New Zealand, which I believe he is likely to advance to a state of prosperity. With regard to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, there was some time ago a degree of discontent with respect to the subject of transportation; but I do not think it can be said that there is 293 any very general discontent prevailing in those colonies. Well, then, if it is not the case that discontent and dissatisfaction prevail in the colonies which I have specified, let the House again consider that there are forty-throe colonies under the British Crown, with various institutions, inhabited by different races, the government of which at all times has been a matter of considerable difficulty. Now, I ask the hon. Gentleman to name to me forty-three independent States in which there is not a considerable degree of discontent to be found. Let him take every one of the States of Europe, as well as those which extend over the American continent, and point out to the House forty-three States whose institutions give perfect satisfaction to the people who live under them at the present moment. I do not think that he can do so, and therefore it is not right that every Colonial Secretary should be told that discontent exists in the colonies. There are colonies in which I do not deny that a good deal of dissatisfaction prevails; but when the hon. Gentleman refers to the causes of that dissatisfaction, I think be can hardly lay them to the charge of the Colonial Secretary of State. I mean those colonies which are concerned in the production of sugar. The Act by which the slaves were emancipated, and the Act by which the admission of foreign sugar was regulated, were the work of Parliament; and there is no doubt that the effect of these two laws has been to diminish the profits arising from the production of sugar in the colonies, and that much dissatisfaction is the consequence. But the hon. Gentleman cannot find fault with these acts. Whether they were wise or not, they were not the acts of the Colonial Secretary, but of Parliament; and whatever discontent prevails on that account, it is not to be laid at the door of the Secretary for the Colonies. Nothing could be more natural than that such a change in the value of property in those colonies should produce a good deal of discontent and dissatisfaction. Of course I do not wish to enter upon so large a question at the present moment, hut with respect to the colony of British Guiana, I wonder that the hon. Gentleman should now bring it under the consideration of the House. An hon. Gentleman moved for a Select Committee to inquire into the state of that colony; and pending that Inquiry, I do not think it advisable to bring the subject under the consideration of the House of 294 Commons, without knowing what evidence has been taken before the Committee, and without being informed what opinion they have formed upon it. The hon. Gentleman the Member for Montrose, however, represents that Earl Grey will not allow British Guiana to make any change in the civil list, or in the salaries of the civil servants of the colony. That is not the ground taken by Earl Grey. He says, "Let a reduction be made, if it be necessary; but let it be made at a time and in a manner consistent with the faith established between the Crown and the colony." In 1844, the colony gave the Crown a civil list, which was to subsist till the year 1851. Those who now hold offices in the colony, hold them upon the faith of the civil list, which was established by the colony on the one hand, and by the Crown on the other. Earl Grey says, that it would not be proper or fair for the provincial legislature, on its own authority, to disturb and set aside that arrangement. He considers that he is bound to maintain it; and I do not think that when the faith of a colony has been pledged to a civil list, no engagements, however solemn, are to be respected because discontent prevails in the colony on the subject. Such is the objection which Earl Grey makes; and be says, "Let a reduction, be made, if necessary, but let it be made in a manner which is consistent with the faith due to the Crown." The hon. Gentleman speaks of the opinion of the legislature having been overruled; but he speaks of it as if it had been the opinion of a popular legislature. Now the legislature of British Guiana, so far as it is unofficial, is elected by a very small body, and does not by any means represent the inhabitants of the colony. I have always been, and am still, of opinion, that there ought to be a more popular representation in that colony, and that the present Court of Policy does not represent the general opinion of the inhabitants. In 1851, the bargain to which I have referred will be at an end, and the legislature of the colony may make any change which it may consider desirable. All the observations, therefore, of the hon. Gentleman with reference to the prevalence of discontent in the colonies amount to this—that, with regard to the sugar colonies, there have been such changes made as to place them in very great difficulties. But the Colonial Secretary of State did not cause those changes; and I believe that he deserves the utmost assistance on my part in the 295 attempt which will he made to get over those difficulties, which must be met with temper, but at the same time with firmness. The House will have the opportunity of seeing, when the report of the Committee is presented, what is best to be done; but I do not think that the scheme of popular representation would prosper everywhere; for instance, I do not think that it would be applicable to Gibraltar. In my opinion, this general proposition admits of very great exceptions; but I agree with the hon. Gentleman, that wherever there is a British colony, and a population of British descent, capable of governing themselves, you ought to admit them to the advantages of a popular representation. I think that, in such a case, they ought to look into their own concerns; as the opinion which they may form on the subject of their own laws and finances are likely to be a great deal better than those at which any Colonial Secretary may arrive, whatever may be his talents, and whether that office be filled by Earl Grey or any one else. At the same time it must be borne in mind, that this is a maxim which must be a carried into effect with a regard to the actual condition of each particular colony.

MR. BERNAL
did not mean to oppose the adjournment; but, though he was not prepared to say that our 43 colonies were discontented, nor that our Colonial Secretary was responsible for the heartburnings which prevailed, yet he could not disguise from the House that those colonies to which his hon. Friend the Member for Montrose had adverted were in a state upon which it was painful to reflect. He would take Jamaica, with the state of which he was best acquainted, and, without travelling into reasons or entering into details, he could assure the House, that with respect to its financial arrangements and its statistical condition, that colony was in a most deplorable state. He was the last man to advise that any breach of faith should be committed, but he knew that the salaries of the Government officers, and of the ecclesiastical ministers in that island, were in a state of abeyance; and that in many places the ministers of the Established Church would remain unpaid altogether, were it not for the exertions of particular congregations. Without putting his finger on any sore place, he earnestly recommended to the Government temper, moderation, and discretion in their communications, for the 296 occasion was one which demanded temper and moderation, more than it fell to the lot of any human being to possess. Throwing away altogether that warmth or violence of feeling which belonged to him when such a subject was under discussion, he would say that he looked on our colonial connexion as well worth preserving. We lived in an age of experiments. He did not find fault with experiments having been made; but before they embarked for another voyage on the wide sea, he would have the House consider the wisdom of doing nothing which might endanger the connexion between the colonies and the British Crown.